'I knew I was a boy when I was a toddler,' says Elliot Page

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 29, 2021. It has since been updated.

Elliot Page, who came out as trans in 2020, said he knew he was a boy when he was just a little kid. Page said that every trans person has their own unique experience, but for him, he knew from a very young age that he was a boy. "All trans people are so different, and my story's absolutely just my story. But yes, when I was a little kid, absolutely, 100%, I was a boy," said the 34-year-old actor in an interview with Vanity Fair. "I knew I was a boy when I was a toddler. I was writing fake love letters and signing them 'Jason.' Every little aspect of my life, that is who I was, who I am, and who I knew myself to be," he added.

He recalls being constantly reminded that he was not a boy. "I just couldn't understand when I'd be told, 'No, you're not. No, you can't be that when you're older,'" said Page. "You feel it. Now I'm finally getting myself back to feeling like who I am, and it's so beautiful and extraordinary, and there's a grief to it in a way." Page was interviewed by Thomas Page McBee, also a trans man. McBee said his life's work as "trying to reconnect with that self that I was as a child." Page said he felt the same before adding that he felt really close to his younger self at times. "I think that's really sweet. I get waves of myself at specific ages, and I just want to cling to that person and hold them close," said Page.

Page fought a long battle to finally come out as trans and is aware of the privilege he enjoys as a movie star. Page, who has long fought and voiced his opinion for the LGBTQIA+ community, said he is deeply hurt by the concerted efforts to strip transgender people of their healthcare rights in various states. "I feel emerging joy and excitement one moment, and then in the next, profound sadness reading about people wanting to take gender-affirming health care away from children. I feel so grateful to be at this place in my life, and I want to use the strength I have to help in all the ways that I can. The reason you and I have the privileges we have is that people have sacrificed so much for so, so, so long and put everything on the line."

He is keen on using his position to help make the lives of trans people better. "I think it's about: How can I feel grateful for my joy, and embrace my joy, and allow myself to have that joy — but then put that joy and that love into action? How do I figure out a way to integrate those two feelings, in terms of being a public person?" said Page. He had also touched upon the violence trans people were constantly subjected to, in his message while coming out as trans. "The statistics are staggering. The discrimination towards trans people is rife, insidious, and cruel, resulting in horrific consequences. In 2020 alone it has been reported that at least 40 transgender people have been murdered, the majority of which were Black and Latinx trans women," said Page, before calling out politicians who stoked hate against the trans community.

"To the political leaders who work to criminalize trans healthcare and deny our right to exist and to all of those with a massive platform who continue to spew hostility towards the trans community: you have blood on your hands. You unleash a fury of vile and demeaning rage that lands on the shoulders of the trans community, a community in which 40% of trans adults report attempting suicide. Enough is enough. You aren’t being 'canceled,' you are hurting people. I am one of those people and we won’t be silent in the face of your attacks," said Page at the time.